Fertility Archives - Dr. Donata Girolamo, Naturopathic Doctor

How to Raise Progesterone Naturally (Without Hormone Replacement)

Is Low Progesterone Behind Your Hormone Symptoms? If you’re feeling tired, irritable, bloated, or struggling with sleep or PMS that seems to be getting worse over time—low progesterone may be playing a role. As a naturopath, I see this pattern often, especially in women navigating stress, perimenopause, or coming off hormonal birth control. The good news? You can support your body to make more of its own progesterone—naturally. No [...]

Constitutional Hydrotherapy

Health Benefits of Constitutional Hydrotherapy By altering blood and lymph flow, circulation and detoxification can be enhanced, while inflammation and pain are decreased. Immune system activity, particularly white blood cell count, increases. Improvements in digestive system function, sleep quality, energy level, and stress response are often reported. Cell function improves, which can have a healing effects anywhere in the body. Medicine has long recognized the the mechanical effects of [...]

Foundations of Fertility part 3: Hypothyroidism

The thyroid gland is part of the endocrine system, and is responsible for how quickly the body uses energy, makes proteins, and responds to other hormones. Thyroid hormones affect how fast or slow your brain, heart, muscles, liver, and other organs work. It is very important this gland is working optimally for a timely conception, pregnancy, and after the birth. Studies show that there is a “higher prevalence of [...]

Fertility for the Advancing Woman

Check out my latest blog post on the NaturalPath website. "Many women are delaying having kids due to “career priorities, advanced education, control over fertility, financial concerns, late and second marriages, and infertility”.1 Often, women start to feel pressure from medical professionals, family, and friends, telling them that it’s all downhill for fertility from 35 and on. I see many women who are stressed out, annoyed, sad, and not feeling [...]

Foundations of Fertility Part 2: Blood Sugar Regulation

Maintaining a tightly controlled insulin and blood sugar relationship is crucial for conception. This means ensuring the pancreas does not produce too much insulin in response to your meal. You may have a problem with blood sugar balance and insulin resistance if you have trouble with weight loss, have been diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), live a sedentary life, or have been consuming a diet high in sugars, [...]

Foundations of Fertility Part 1: Stress Management

Dr. Donata Girolamo, N.D. explains in this 5-part series how to build a strong foundation to improve conception rates, labour experiences, and have a healthy baby. Stress is commonly overlooked and not considered as an obstacle to natural conception. I’ve chosen to write about it as part 1 of Foundations of Fertility, because stress is now acknowledged as being the cause for many disease processes.1 Managing stress better and initiating [...]

Endometriosis: “I love being a woman and I know where I belong”*

March is Endometriosis month. Endometriosis is a condition resulting from the appearance of endometrial tissue outside the uterus which causes pelvic pain. Some causes may be: Altered immune function Exposure to environmental chemicals that mimic estrogen, like dioxin Increased free radicals (oxidative stress) Retrograde bleeding Qi and blood stagnation (Chinese medicine) Risk Factors: Estrogen dominance Hormone replacement therapy Environmental estrogens through food sources; meat, dairy Increased body fat Lack [...]

Change Your Terrain Through the Microbiome

The holy grail, the secret, the missing link to overflowing health is found in the title of this blog post. I’m not exaggerating. What do I mean by “Change Your Terrain Through the Microbiome"? This concept is as old as medicine itself. Today it is (thankfully) gaining more attention and authority due to research on the “microbiome” , or our gastrointestinal health. Ahh so the answer is a probiotic, right? [...]

Nutrition for Ovulatory Infertility

The Harvard Health Publication has written 10 dietary strategies to improve ovulatory infertility. You can read about them here. In regards to the info about folic acid, the latest research has found that women should take the activated form L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate in case they do not methylate the unactivated form on their own. You can read a bit about that here. In the Harvard Health Publication, whole milk or ice cream [...]

Lifestyle Strategies to Enhance Fertility

Just like all roadblocks in life, dealing with a fertility challenge requires a new strategy, often with your lifestyle. These 3 lifestyle habits are essential to improve your chances of increasing your fertility, and to make this time period more enjoyable. Fertility Enhancer #1 Stress Management – I hear it all the time, “but I love my life, I’m not stressed!” Let’s define stress then; a state of mental [...]